Undertaker s wagon



No. 609,530. Patented Aug. 23, I898.v J. ZWACK.

UNDERTAKER'S WAGON.

(Application filed Sept. 8, 1897.)

(No Model.)

Akita m5 cams PETEfiS 529.. FHO10-LlTHO-.WASNINDTON, n, c.

llwrrnn STATES JOHN ZVVAOK, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

UNDERTAKERS WAGON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,530, dated August 23, 1898.

Application filed $eptember 8, 1897. Serial No. 650,988. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN ZWACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements -in Wagons for the Use of Undertakers, of

which the following is a full and correct description.

My invention, which particularly relates to wagons for the use of undertakers for the purpose of moving caskets, coflins, and their inclosing boxes,can without further invention be readily adapted to other purposes.

It is well known that undertakers, owing to the nature of their business, are frequently obliged to move caskets, coffins, and other articles pertaining to their business at times when the weather is very inclement, and are thus exposed to changes which are not only liable to produce discomfort, but oftentimes dangerous sicknesses.

The object of my invention is to provide facilities to afford proper protection to the occupants of the vehicle and to the articles contained in the latter. This object I attain by the means herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, being herein referred to, form part of this specification.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wagon in which my invention is embodied and from which the running-gear is omitted; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of the same, and Fig. 3 a horizontal section at the line X X on Fig. 2. p Asrepresented in the drawings, A designates the body or box of my wagon, consisting of a bottom 1, sides 2, hinged end-board 3, and forward partition 4, arranged transversely between the sides 2. Preferably a series of metallic strips or bars 5 are arranged longitudinally on the bottom 1 for the purpose of facilitating the sliding in and out of the caskets and other articles usually carried in undertakers wagons. At the forward end of the box A a foot-board 6 is arranged transversely between the sides of a forward extension B of the box A. Between said foot-board and the bottom 1 a locker 7 is formed for receiving blankets and other loose articles, the after part of the foot-board being removable to afford access to said locker.

O is a stationary protection for the driver, consisting of permanent sides 8, which may be integral with or permanently attached to the sides of the box A, and a roof 9, which forms a permanent attachment to the sides 8 and is extendedforward to afford protection to a person in the portion 0 during a storm of snow or rain. A back 10, between the sides 8, forms the lower boundary of an opening 11, which affords ventilation and means for rearward observations for a person in the portion 0. A curtain D, attached to a crosspiece 12, is arranged to cover over the opening 11 when occasion requires. A horizontal partition 13 is arranged from the foremost side of the back 10, between the sides 8 and extends forward. Said partition is provided with a slotted opening 14, through which a waterproof curtain or shield E passes, so as to form a covering for a casket or other article contained in the box A. Said curtain is wound up on a roller 15, arranged above the partition 13.

F is a drivers seat that is adjustable to different heights to adapt 1 its position to suit boxes of unusual height, said seat being adapted to be elevated until its under side is brought to a level with the lower face of the horizontal partition 13, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

A description of other parts of my wagon which specially relate to its ornamentation is omitted as being unnecessary herein.

My invention is intended to be used in the following manner: When a casket, cofiiin, or a box for containing either is to be placed in the wagon, it is preferably inserted endwise in the rear end, the end-board 3 being swung downward for that purpose, and pushed. forward until the foremost end passes under the seat F, which, if the article is of unusual height, may be elevated to a height that will allow the casket or other articleto pass under it. After the article is inits proper'place and the end-board swung up to its normal position the waterproof shield E should be drawn out toward the rear of the box A, so as to protect the casket or other article from being weather-beaten. On arriving at the place of delivery the end-board 3 should be swung downward, and the casket can be drawn out without removing the waterproof shield E, which can be wound up, as shown in Fig. 2, after the removal of the casket. When preferred, the casket can be removed by lifting it over the side of the box A; but in such cases the casket should be slid endwise toward the rear end of the box A until its opposite end will clear the back 10, after which the casket can be readily lifted over the side of the box A.

I am aware that undertakers"wagons have heretofore been made with closed sides and tops that have extended from the rear end of the wagon over the drivers seat, thereby necessitating an endwise removal of a casket at the rear end of the Wagon, and there are occasions when it is necessary that the casket should be taken out of the wagon over the side of the box. I do not claim the construction which covers the entire rear part of the box; but

What I claim as my invention, and am desirous of securing by Letters Patent, is-

, 1. An nndertakers wagon as herein shown and described, provided with a box, A,'having a permanent protector, O, which covers the forward portion of said box, the after portion of the latter being left uncovered by the said protector; the latter being provided with a forwardly-projecting roof, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, in an undertakers wagon, of a wagon-box, A, having a protector, O, permanently erected thereon adjacent Y 

